Vignettes
by Recall the Love
Summary: Bechloe one shots, about anything, of any length, of any genre.
1. Coming Out

**A/N: Oho… Me again. Can't escape this fandom for too long, apparently?! I'm back home again and have some time to kill until the semester begins again. Although I don't think I can commit to a long fic, here's another project I'm attempting to get me back on the wagon as my self-esteem about my writing is in the pits right now. **

**In any case, I'm attempting something like a 30 day challenge where I write/post a one shot per day, about anything, any genre, of any length. I've written a few in advance to give me a bit of buffer in case I have to miss a day for some reason (it'll happen). It'll probably be mostly Bechloe, but if other ships creep in I'll give you guys a heads up.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this and my little attempt to feel halfway confident about my writing again.**

* * *

It only takes until the third day until Chloe snaps; the words spill out in a moment of exhaustion and frustration in the middle of a rushed dinner at McDonald's after a late night Bella's practice. She means it to sound calm or at the very worst, a little exasperated, but her voice takes on this stupid pleading tone that gives away the cracks.

'God - can we _please_ stop talking about this?'

Beca, much as she tries to seem "badass" all the time, is nowhere near as good at hiding her emotions in her facial expressions as she thinks she is. She's clearly a little hurt by Chloe's remark. 'Didn't you say if I had questions, I could ask?'

'I know, but I didn't think you'd have _this _many questions, or that you'd keep asking the same things _over and over_.' Chloe takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself. She's getting a little too worked up over this, she knows, but it's a sensitive topic and Beca's seemingly endless curiosity is becoming tiresome.

And so is Beca's tendency to retreat into her shell when she feels even remotely attacked. 'Okay,' she mutters, leaning back into the padded seats. 'Sorry, didn't mean to offend you, or something.'

'You didn't. But you keep asking. And asking… And Beca, I don't know why or how I started liking girls. I just did, and…' She bites her lip, scared to voice the issue. 'You're going to have to deal with it eventually.'

She looks affronted. 'I _have _dealt with it; I told you, it's not an issue for me.'

But Chloe says quietly, 'Even so. Every time you ask me something, even though I know you're just confused about it all, it just makes me feel so - _other_.'

'Other?'

'Like I'm not like you.' She fiddles with her cutlery, unable to meet Beca's gaze. 'Like I'm somehow… Not me, anymore, in your eyes. I'm not anything else besides this_, _besides my sexuality.'

'No - Chloe, of course that's not -'

'Maybe not,' she interrupts. 'But that's what it feels like. And to be honest? It kind of sucks.'

For a second, Beca looks like she might argue; but then, an expression of shame crosses over her face and she bows her head instead.

'I'm sorry. You're – you're a lot more to me than that,' she says to the tray on the table. 'Just my dumb ass keeps messing up and making it seem, you know…' She fishes for the word, cringing a little at her vocabulary failure. 'Like you're not.' And after a moment's pause, she pushes her leftover fries to Chloe's side of the table.

Chloe sighs, and takes one.

It's a start, anyway.


	2. Jealousy

**A/N: Fluff-fluff-fluff. Glad you guys seem interested. Enjoy.**

* * *

Beca tapped out a slow beat on the table, letting out an impatient huff every so often and ignoring the glares of the other patrons in the shop. Her gaze was fixed solidly on Chloe, who had originally been fetching coffees for them both before they went to practice, but had since been waylaid by some man with stubble all over his face and a stupid Internet meme shirt (and what she hoped was a coffee stain near the breast pocket).

Ostensibly they were having a conversation about something or other. However, it hadn't escaped Beca's notice how his eyes kept glazing over and falling down into Chloe's cleavage, or the way he kept grinning in what Beca felt was an overly self-satisfied way every time she laughed. It had apparently escaped Chloe's notice, however, because Beca had been waiting here for around ten minutes, with neither a drink nor Chloe to keep her company. She was rapidly losing her patience. Only the reluctance to make a scene and the knowledge in the back of her mind that Chloe was perfectly at rights to talk to whoever she wanted to - she wasn't _technically_ Beca'sgirlfriend, after all, or at least not officially - stopped her from getting up and just pulling her back over here.

That said, she couldn't really blame the guy for wanting to interact with Chloe. It was hardly a rare occurrence: she had the sort of face and ability to look genuinely interested in what others were saying that made old ladies in the supermarket stop to tell her their life story. This was something Beca never had an issue with, and she felt simultaneously jealous and relieved that she didn't have to deal with it on a regular basis like Chloe did.

Still, ten minutes was a pretty long time, especially since Chloe was usually quite good at politely exiting the random conversations she got into if she was with someone else. She narrowed her eyes at them, trying to work out what he possibly could be offering in conversation compared to her. Maybe it was just that Chloe was too nice and couldn't find an opening to leave. At least, she hoped that was it, since she'd made particular plans with Chloe to meet her here.

It took a while, but Chloe seemed to remember who she came with and ambled over to their table, drinks in hand. She was humming cheerfully to herself as she did so, apparently not noticing Beca's bitch face.

'How do you do that?' Beca asked bitterly as Chloe set them down.

'Do what?'

'_That_.' She nodded over Chloe's shoulder, to where the guy was still gazing over at them both. When Chloe looked as well, he smirked at her; she waved back. 'Charm the pants off people within a few seconds of flirting with them.'

Chloe's brow wrinkled. 'I wasn't flirting. He asked what I was drinking because it looked good, and I told him. Then he saw my Barden sticker on my bag and we started talking about it, because he goes there too.'

'Oh, _that's_ convenient…'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Nothing.'

The look Chloe gave her over the top of her drink was too knowing for her liking. 'Beca...'

'Really, it's nothing,' she said, making a half-hearted effort to push the annoyance out of her tone. 'It just confuses me, how good you are at flirting and making people like you.'

'I told you, I wasn't flirting with him.'

'So what were you doing?'

'I was talking to him, like I said.' She took a sip of her drink, grimacing because it had gone a little cold. Chloe couldn't stand drinks that were anything less than scalding hot. 'What does it matter, anyway? I'm here with you.'

At this, Beca scoffed. 'Yeah, but I'm sure you'd rather be with Mr Forever Alone over there, wouldn't you? Maybe his shirt isn't as appropriate as I originally thought…'

'No,' replied Chloe sincerely, tilting her head as though the thought had never occurred to her. 'Of course I wouldn't.'

'But he's obviously interested, and you're -'

'Beca,' Chloe interrupted, taking her hand, 'I'm here with _you_. I'm sorry I got caught up talking to him, but there's no need to get jealous.'

Beca, aghast, tried to pull her hand away but Chloe held fast. 'I'm not jealous!'

'Yes, you are. And that's okay. I mean, I'd want me all to myself as well,' she said, winking.

'So modest,' Beca muttered. She sank down low into her chair; Chloe continued to look at her in that annoyingly knowing way. 'Stop looking at me like that.'

'But it's so cute,' said Chloe. She leaned in and kissed Beca solidly on the lips, then stood up. 'I'm going to ask them to reheat my drink, so you just sit there being cute and definitely not jealous, okay?'

She left Beca behind to splutter, fighting off a blush and trying to scowl instead but failing at both.

'You suck!' she called to Chloe, who blew her a kiss back. Which definitely didn't make her smile like a goof.

(And, because she _definitely_ wasn't jealous, she also definitely didn't smirk when she noticed the guy gazing at them in shock, and when Chloe beamed at him and pointed Beca out as her girlfriend.)

(Alright, but only a tiny bit.)

(… Fine, maybe a lot.)


	3. Hotels

**A/N: Okay, so maybe jumping to a 30 day challenge in the middle of severe writer's block was a bad idea. I'm trying, but most of what I'm ending up with is anxiety attacks and terrible half finished fics. For this reason I'm going to try posting every other day or something instead and see how that goes. **

**Also, someone left a guest review saying my dialogue needs work. This is a fair comment, but slightly vague - so if that person wishes, some specifics might be helpful. I really am trying to improve as much as I can.**

**I know this one is short; I'm sorry guys. I tried. It's only been three days and I'm already making myself ill worrying about it. -rolls eyes-**

* * *

Hotels are starting to become one of Chloe's favourite places these days. They're a kind of halfway point between reality and fantasy - a little room where she can imagine they do this every day. Waking to Beca's grumpy morning face when the sun peeks through the curtains and shines on her face; kissing below her ear and tickling her until she laughs, pushing Chloe away.

Logically, it'd be cheaper to simply stay with each other. However, Beca's bed is small enough to fit only her, and also includes a smirking Cynthia Rose who likes to come home at random times to see if she can catch the two of them together. Then there's Chloe's roommate, who... Well, the less said about Aubrey's attitude to their relationship, the better, probably.

Chloe doesn't mind, though. Even the small, humid ones that barely have enough room for the two of them because it's all they can afford, even by splitting the cost. Beca frequently whines that Chloe could easily ask her parents for help; they're always anxiously throwing money or lavish gifts in Chloe's direction that she politely rejects every time. Any one of those little care packages could pay for a decent room, Beca always says. One with air conditioning. Like she has much to worry about, considering that she doesn't have any college debts and doesn't even have to pay rent on her room.

But you'll never catch Chloe asking her parents for money. She likes to see the fruits of her labours from several jobs by having Beca curled up next to her, eyes droopy with sleep and a blanket just barely covering her naked body.

It's easy to forget about the things outside their little room. Like work and distance; like 'Well, she'll probably grow out of it' and 'Really, Chloe, _her_?' which creep around the outside of her consciousness. But none of that matters here. Only Beca's fingers and lips and smile which make it all worth it.

Even if only for a day.


	4. AU: College tours

**A/N: As promised, a much longer one this time, haha. Thanks for being patient guys. I think I'm going to take off the arbitrary 30 one shot limit at this point because I'm obviously not writing them in 30 days. I don't know if anyone minds, but, you know what, fuck it. I write what I want.**

**Pre-Barden. In this AU, Beca and Chloe are the same age. Oh so many parental issues.**

**I kind of like the idea of Chloe boundary issues being even worse before college mellowed her a little (but not too much, or she'd never get into a shower with a stranger…)**

* * *

'And if you look to your right, you'll see Barden's very own on-site chapel,' the tour guide chirped out to the semi-attentive crowd of parents fanning themselves with leaflets and bored teenagers surreptitiously trying to look at their phones. Beca was among them at the back of the group, not even pretending to be interested. 'Built back in the late '20s, it has since been primarily occupiedby the "50 Shades of Grey Society", who enjoy the place for its rustic architectural charm and high rafters. Next we'll be taking a look at Brunswick Building, the computer lab, which still features fascinating examples of outdated technology. If you'll all follow me...

As one the crowd began shuffling onwards, with Beca following them without really looking where she was going. As a result, when someone rushed past and knocked into her shoulder she nearly lost both her phone and her balance. 'Jeez - watch it!' she shouted, just about managing to catch her cell before it hit the ground. Beca glared after the girl who had pushed her; she glanced back apologetically, but soon hurried on forwards to join the tour guide up front.

That kind of enthusiasm was just unnecessary, thought Beca as she watched them chatter away intensely to each other. She could maybe understand the excitement if they were at any other college than Barden University, but even then this particular girl was going way overboard. Even the girl's cheeks seemed to be flushed with happiness, matching her flaming red hair tied back in a loose plait.

The girl was still talking, and although she couldn't hear what she was saying, Beca felt a wave of irritation just from the principle of the thing. 'God, does she ever shut up?' Beca muttered to herself. Just as she said it, the girl suddenly looked over her shoulder through the hordes of people and Beca panicked, wondering if she'd somehow said that loud enough for it to carry to the front.

However, it turned out that she was just gesturing to two tired looking adults standing near Beca, presumably her parents. Judging by their faces as they slowly pushed their way to the front, they were enjoying this about as much as Beca was. At least this girl _had _her parents around. Beca's dad had forced her to come here for an "official" campus tour but then he disappeared five minutes into it to do some "work stuff". She knew in advance he'd probably be busy with all the prospective students on campus today, but it didn't stop her being annoyed that he couldn't even be bothered to stick around and see her misery in person.

God, this was boring. Would her father even know if she left? The idea of just finding somewhere shady to sit and relax for a while seemed far more tempting than subjecting herself to more torture.

She eventually resolved to stick around for five more minutes, just to show willing. However, when they came to the auditorium and the tour guide began waxing poetic about the acapella groups on campus, her desire to stick around quickly dissolved.

'Screw it,' Beca said aloud. Half expecting her father to appear out of nowhere and drag her back to the tour, she manoeuvred her way out into the fresh air and stomped off in the other direction, only glancing back enough to notice the redhead was now in what looked like a heated discussion with her parents.

Probably trying to convince them to buy her a pony on Daddy's credit card, she thought. Some people.

* * *

Okay, so ending up in that weird empty pool only five minutes away wasn't _quite _how Beca had expected to spend her day today, but it was the only place not crammed with students or families. Plus, she had to admit it was a damn sight better than having to follow around that stupid tour. Even if the ground was hard, it was much cooler than walking around was (if she ignored the weird smell that occasionally seemed to linger in the corners). Beca felt oddly comforted and safe here, whereas if she'd sat under a tree she worried her father would find her.

She sighed, leaning her head back against the tiled wall and massaging her temples. Today had turned out even worse than expected . She'd come along solely to appease her dad's constant nagging, but knowing him, he was probably going to do that even more now.

It was the same argument every time. He didn't believe that she could make it in L.A. without a college education. She did. He didn't really believe she could make it in L.A., full stop, for that matter, while she... Well, she wasn't entirely sure, but she'd never let on to him. Her mom felt the same way, but hey, that was nothing new.

Deep down she knew he was probably just trying to look out for her (much as she'd like to deny it) but it seemed like he had no idea how to do that in a way that didn't belittle her or put down the dreams she'd had for years now.

Maybe she should just go to college. It's not like she'd have to pay for it, after all, so it was basically a free degree if she put in a little work. How many people could claim that? And maybe it'd finally shut up that little voice in her head that sounded an awful lot like her parents which woke her at three in the morning with things like 'Who do you think you're kidding? You'll never make it'. Maybe this way, she'd have something to fall back on if she failed, a fate that seemed more and more likely every day.

Great, now she was sounding like her dad. She shuddered.

'Hey! What are you doing down there?' asked a cheerful voice.

Beca froze, hoping to God that wasn't who she thought it was.

But just in case the world felt like it hadn't shit on Beca enough that day, it was.

'Oh, you have _got _to be kidding me...' It was the redheaded girl from earlier, peering down at her from the poolside above her head. Naturally the one person that had really irritated Beca earlier had stalker urges. She did not need this right now. 'I'm having a freaking barbecue**, **of course. What does it look like I'm doing?'

She expected the girl to look affronted at her sarcasm, as people often were, but instead her expression was more amused than anything. 'If you ask me, you seem a bit more like you're hiding from something than having a barbecue.'

This candid comment took Beca aback a little, sapping her usual competence at delivering witty retorts. '... Well, I'm not.'

'My name's Chloe,' she shouted down into the pool, apparently unaware of the fact Beca could hear her perfectly fine at speaking volume - she wasn't that far away, after all, and the tiled walls of the pool added a little echo to her voice. She guessed Chloe wasn't really a person that had much thought for her surroundings or other people's boundaries. 'Chloe Beale!'

'I didn't ask!'

'What's yours?'

'What do you care?'

'Okay, nice to meet you, "What Do You Care".' Chloe's smile widened triumphantly, like she thought she was the smartest person in the world for coming up with that. Beca just scoffed, turning back to her phone and hoping she'd get that hint that she wasn't interested. However, Chloe seemed really intent on drawing her into a conversation with the strangest methods known to mind. 'I saw you back at the tour! I kind of followed you here, actually.'

Beca nearly smacked her head on the tiles in turning around to gape at Chloe in horror. 'You _what? _You know that's creepy as hell, right?'

This time Chloe did frown. 'I didn't think it was. I figured you knew where you were going more than I did.'

'And you couldn't have just stayed with the tour?' Choe shrugged. 'Look, I'm not trying to be rude -' Alright, maybe she was - 'but I'm trying to have some privacy down here. Would you mind leaving me alone?'

'Can I join you?'

'Hello? Are you just ignoring every word I'm saying?!'

'I heard you, and normally I would leave,' replied Chloe. 'Only, I'm trying to avoid my parents as well.'

Beca was surprised. 'Why? I thought you were all into this college crap. You wouldn't stop going on about it earlier.'

'I am, but they don't really want me to come here,' she said, her nose wrinkling. 'They think I could go somewhere a lot more prestigious and study something that will ensure a job at the end of it, but that's not the priority for me.' Chloe chanced a look at Beca this point, as though waiting for a comment or a question or something. When none was forthcoming, she went on, 'I wanted to prove to them that Barden is worth it… But they're not really listening. We had an argument, I got mad and walked off.'

'How interesting,' Beca deadpanned. 'Still, Barden _isn't _worth it, so I can kinda see where your parents are coming from.'

'Sure it is!' Beca squinted up to see if she said this with a straight face. She did. This girl was a piece of work, that's for sure. 'Hang on, let me come down there and I'll explain it to you.'

She was already crouched, looking ready to jump down, making Beca sigh in defeat. She didn't want the girl to suddenly throw herself off if Beca rejected her. Who knew what sort of crazy habits she had? 'You're not going to leave me alone even if I say no, are you?'

Chloe grinned. 'Now you're getting it.' Beca just shook her head, which Chloe apparently took as tacit permission.

Beca expected her to at least walk down a bit further to the shallow end before climbing down, but the girl seemed to think nothing of dropping down into the pool, landing with her knees bent and perfect posture. Even with Chloe lowering herself by her fingertips it was a fairly sizeable drop; Beca would have probably have broken something if she'd tried that.

'Jesus, didn't that hurt your legs?'

She blinked, straightening up. 'No. Why would it?'

'Never mind. I don't think the normal world really applies to you.'

Chloe apparently decided to ignore this comment. 'So why are you down here all by yourself? You look pretty lonely.'

'You don't mince your words, do you?' said Beca, snorting.

Chloe smiled. 'No. I think it saves time in the long run if I say what I'm thinking from the beginning.' She flopped down on the floor beside Beca, adjusting the end of her check dress so it covered the floor. She seemed unperturbed by the grubby floor of the pool or even the fact she was sitting in a weird grey patch on the tiles. 'You didn't tell me your name.'

'Do I have to?'

'Yes.'

'Ugh, fine. It's Beca.'

'Beca.' Chloe repeated it a few times, looking pleased. 'That totally suits you. I was way off: my first guess was "Anna".'

Beca decided not to mention how weird it was that Chloe had been trying to guess her name, figuring at this point it would be like water off a duck's back. 'Anna? Why Anna?'

'I don't know - you're kind of small and Anna just feels like a small person name.'

'Riiight...'

Chloe observed her, pushing back a few strands of hair that had escaped from the plait behind her ear. The scorching heat had died down a little and been replaced by a breeze, making Beca shiver a little and draw her limbs in closer. She wasn't sure if the shiver was brought on by the breeze or the intense way Chloe was looking at her. 'You're not really the sociable type, are you?'

'Let me guess. Psychology major?'

Chloe laughed heartily at this. Beca couldn't even remember the last time she'd made someone full on belly laugh like that, and it was an oddly nice feeling. 'Nah, not even close. Literature.'

'Somehow I'm unsurprised still. What can you even do with that in the real world?'

'Oh, loads of things,' said Chloe airily. 'And besides, there's a lot more to the world than getting a decent paying job.' Beca silently agreed, but decided not to let Chloe know that. 'So, what about you? What are you thinking of studying?'

'Nothing,' Beca replied. 'I'm not going to college.'

'You aren't?'

'No. My dad wants me to, though. He's a lecturer here so he forced me to come here today and take a tour of the place. Like I've not been here several times already.' She leaned back against the side of the pool, finding herself easing into the conversation a little more now she'd established Chloe probably wasn't going to murder her any time soon. She hoped. 'He teaches Comparative Literature, actually, so maybe you ran into him already.'

Chloe's face lit up in recognition. 'Oh, Dr Mitchell? I thought he was amazing! He's so passionate about what he does. I love that.'

'Maybe at his job, but not so much at being a dad. Guy can't even muster up the will to not abandon his daughter for the day, even though it was him that made me come here.' Oh yay, she'd created an awkward silence and a moment for Chloe to look at her with pity. Luckily - or perhaps unluckily, Beca wasn't sure anymore - Chloe seemed intent enough on talking to her that she quickly found a new topic.

'So… What _do _you want to do?'

Beca studied her, wondering how honest to be. This was always a tricky question, and most often ended with people trying to talk her out of it because it was a "hard business to break into", or pretending to be supportive even though it was plainly obvious they didn't think she had what it took. That was the trouble with being eighteen and full of ambition; everyone always looked at you so patronisingly because they'd lost all their dreams ages ago. She hoped she never ended up like that.

In the end, she shrugged inwardly and decided to go for it - she'd already been shit on enough by the people she'd opened up to about the DJing, so another one wouldn't really matter. Besides, she should really start working on that thick skin thing if she wanted to be famous. 'I want to go to L.A. and become a DJ.'

This time, Chloe lit up even more than she did when she'd mentioned her father. It was, Beca had to admit, a rather attractive look for Chloe: the topic seemed to make her eyes kind of _glitter _and her cheeks flushed and she leaned forward eagerly, dress dipping down to expose her collarbone and a little below - and okay, stop staring, Beca, seriously. 'Really? That's _so _cool!'

Beca forced her eyes to fix on Chloe's face and nothing else. '... It is?'

'Of course! I'd love to be able to do that! I'm really into music too.'

'Oh yeah?' Beca was interested now. 'What kind of stuff?'

'Acapella.'

Beca couldn't help but laugh, but instantly regretted it when Chloe's face fell. Crap, she really shouldn't have done that, especially since Chloe had been pretty nice about her own ambitions. 'Uh, sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just… Acapella? Seriously?'

'Acapella's great,' Chloe insisted. 'Barden has quite a few teams on campus and they compete in national championships every year.'

_On purpose? _Beca thought, but this time kept it to herself. 'Cool, I guess. If that's what you're

into.'

'Oh, I am.' Chloe smiled happily for a moment, but then it faded. 'Too bad my parents think it's just going to be a distraction if I come here.'

'Well, it's your life. Do what you like, it's nothing to do with them.' She shrugged.

She expected Chloe to agree, but she actually looked quite shocked at the suggestion. 'Oh, I couldn't do that! They're my parents. Their approval is really important to me.'

Beca arched an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk on her lips. 'You know, it's funny. I thought you were pretty confident when you first came over, but I'm starting to get the feeling you're actually a bit of a doormat deep down.'

'And what's that supposed to mean?'

She should have taken Chloe's frown as a hint not to go on, but Beca was about as bad with social cues as Chloe was. 'You're letting your parents dictate your life for you. You're the one who has to live it, not you, so you should do what makes you happy. Otherwise they're just walking all over you - like a doormat,' she explained with yet another shrug.

On Beca's mental list of anticipated responses, a quick retort, or maybe even the middle finger would have been pretty normal. Heck, that's what she would have done. But when no reply came, she looked over at Chloe and was shocked to see she was visibly upset. Not only that, she was pissed off: her brow was knitted into a scowl, changing her face from her previous cheerful, happy-go-lucky to something that made alarm bells ring in Beca's head. 'Hey… Uh, I didn't mean -'

'I'm not letting them walk all over me,' Chloe said furiously. Her chin was actually wobbling. Oh shit, oh shit. 'That's a horrible thing to say.'

'I didn't mean it like that. All I'm saying is that you should do what makes you happy.'

'But I _can't _do that,' Chloe blurted out. 'What if they're right? What if I don't get anything out of this degree and I end up with no job, living on the streets with five cats as my only company?'

'_What_?' Beca laughed incredulously. 'You were the one saying earlier that there's more to life than a job! And there is.' She couldn't help but add, a tad proudly, 'That's why I'm going to go to L.A.; to prove that to my parents.' If anything this just seemed to make Chloe more miserable. 'Jeez, you're not like, bipolar, are you?'

'No,' said Chloe stiffly. 'And that's offensive.'

As Beca stared at Chloe, lost for words, she was almost thankful when her phone began ringing and cut through the awkward moment. 'Hang on.' She glanced at the display. 'Oh, the irony. My dad's calling. I'll just a be a minute,' she told Chloe, but she was gazing off into the distance and wiping her cheeks.

'Beca, where are you?' said her father as soon as she answered. 'Are you done with the tour?'

'Uh… In a manner of speaking?'

'What?' He let out a noise of exasperation. 'You were meant to stay with the group.'

'I decided to have a look around on my own. I'm in that weird empty pool,' she told him.** '**But Dad, I'm -'

'I'm close by,' he replied. He sounded annoyed. 'Don't go anywhere, I'll be there shortly.'

He hung up, making Beca groan and smack her head back against the tiled walls of the pool. 'Wow. Guess you're not alone in having parent problems, huh Red?'

'I'm _not _a doormat,' said Chloe.

Beca rubbed her temples, feeling the beginning of a headache coming on. Playing therapist to this girl with obvious issues in standing up for herself wasn't what she'd had planned when she came to Barden today. 'You're not still upset about that, are you?'

'Yes, I am! Because I'm not a doormat!' Chloe jumped to her feet. She was half shouting at this point, her chest heaving with anger and barely suppressed tears. 'I _can _stand up to my parents! I'm going to go right over there and tell them I'm going to Barden and that I'm not taking no for an answer! You'll see!'

'Chloe –'

'And then you know what? I'm going to tell them I like girls! And, and if they don't like it, well, then they can - they can just go _screw themselves_!'

Beca's jaw dropped. 'Whoa, holy shit! Slow down a second -'

'Hello? Beca?'

The interruption of Dr Mitchell's voice made Chloe squeak in fright, jumping back into the shadows and nearly knocking Beca over for the second time that day. Thankfully Beca caught her before they both fell and hauled her back upright. 'Calm down! It's just my dad,' she explained to a spooked Chloe. 'He has the worst timing, I swear to God. You just stay right there, we're not done with this,' she said, pointing a finger at Chloe, who seemed to ready to run off. She stayed put obediently as Beca leant forward and looked up towards the poolside. 'Hello, Daddy dearest,' she called.

Her father appeared at the poolside, near where Chloe had been standing before. 'What on Earth are you doing down there? I thought I told you to follow the tour.'

'I was going to, but then I thought hm, sitting in an empty pool. That's way more interesting,' she shot back. She glanced at Chloe for a reaction, glad to see her lips twitch slightly. She smiled encouragingly at her, and gradually Chloe's shoulders lost their tension and she slumped against the wall.

'Don't be smart,' he replied, sighing. 'Come on, get out of there - I'll show you around myself.'

'I'm kind of busy.'

'Busy? Busy doing what?'

'Talking to my new friend Chloe.'

'Chloe?' She gestured to the girl in question: at this, Chloe moved out of the shadows just enough to be visible to Beca's father, giving him a tiny wave. He gawked at her openly, making Beca realise she'd made a huge mistake in introducing them. 'Wait, did you make a friend?' The amazement was audible in his voice.

'_Dad_,' she hissed, flushing; she glanced at Chloe, but she wasn't laughing.

'Well, that's wonderful.' He put his hands up and began to back away. 'Don't mind me - I'll find something else to do for a bit, but then we're going to look around properly, okay?' Then he winked at Chloe. 'Don't worry - when you get tired of her, just send her back to me.'

She knew he was only joking, but the comment stung quite a lot. She hadn't realised the hurt was visible on Beca's face until she heard a soft, 'Hey,' from Chloe and her hand briefly touch her arm; she blinked back into awareness and forced a nonchalant shrug. 'Good Old Daddy Mitchell, right? Asshole - I resent whatever he's implying...'

'Don't worry about it,' said Chloe quietly. 'All parents are like that. And...' She bit her lip. 'I'm not tired of you. For the record.'

Beca's swallowed, mouth a little dry. 'Oh. Really?' Chloe smiled at her shyly. It was infectious; the one that followed on Beca's face was largely unconscious. 'So... Girls, huh?' She chuckled when Chloe put her head in her hands and groaned in embarrassment.

'Oh my God, I can't believe I said that all that stuff out loud. I don't know what I was thinking.'

'That's pretty brave, you know,' Beca told her. 'Coming out to your parents, that is. Not doormat-like behaviour at all.' Well, that was almost an apology, she supposed.

'Thanks,' said Chloe. She sighed, looking morose again.

'What's wrong now?'

'Do you really think you're going to make it in L.A.?' she asked. Beca's defences immediately jumped up, but after a moment she realised Chloe didn't seem to be attacking her like she'd initially thought.

'Well, I sure hope so. I'm not staying around here.'

'So… you definitely won't be coming to Barden?'

'Not if I can help it.'

'Alright,' said Chloe sadly. 'But you better make sure you make it big out there, okay? For me at least.'

Beca couldn't help but chuckle. 'You've never even heard my stuff, but sure.' She cocked her head. 'Y'know, this is probably one of the weirdest meetings I've ever had with someone.'

'Me too… And I kind of like it.'

'Same.' Beca's phone buzzed in her a pocket - a text she knew was probably from her dad. 'And that'll be my dad telling me to get going.'

'Oh. Do you have to?' It was mildly unnerving for Beca to note that Chloe seemed genuinely unhappy to see her go. 'I feel like I was just getting to know you.'

'I probably should, otherwise he'll come looking for me.'

'So… This is goodbye, then?'

She hadn't thought of it like that. The idea of not seeing Chloe again her feeling oddly bereft as well. Not for the first time, she wondered how this girl had wormed her way below her defences to the point where she actually wanted to stay, when before she wanted anything but. 'Seems like it.'

Chloe reached into her pocket, producing her phone. She took Beca's hand and placed it in her palm. 'Could I get your number? It might be good to know someone in advance when semester starts. Sometimes it's a bit overwhelming when you don't know anyone at all.'

'I'm not going to be there though, Chloe.'

Chloe's smile slipped. 'Oh. Yeah. I keep forgetting. Or hoping you'll change your mind.'

'It's pretty unlikely. But…. Maybe I could give it to you anyway.' She took the cell and typed her number in. Just as she was about to hand it over, Chloe suddenly flung her arms around her and gave her a tight, squeezing hug - Beca froze in shock and immediately (although gently) tried to extricate herself.

'Not a hug person,' she explained, giving back the phone.

'Sorry.'

'No problem. After everything we just went through, it's probably a bit too much to expect you to respect boundaries now,' she teased. 'See you around, Chloe… Maybe.'

As she walked away, hands shoved in her pockets, Chloe shouted, 'Bye Beca! Good luck in L.A.!' Beca grinned and waved back at her, but it was only a short lived smile that darkened a little more with every step she took away from the pool.

And by the time she reached her father, her smile had gone completely.

What the hell was she supposed to do now?


	5. Writer's Block

**A/N: It's quite sweet that quite a few of you guys reviewed asking for a follow up to the last one-shot. I know my track record for sequels isn't great, but this time I did in fact manage to come up with a plot for a possible multipart fic. It'll probably take a while to complete but I'll do my best. However, I don't know whether to post it in this collection or make an entirely new story - I think it would get lost here...**

**Here's a mindlessly fluffy one shot about having writer's block that I started during my own bout of writer's block, apparently in August 2013. And I also do the thing where I call up my friends (and my girlfriend) and ask them to give me prompts, then dismiss all of them. Yeah...**

* * *

'No, no, no, no, _no_,' said Beca, slapping herself on the forehead several times. She would have banged her head on the desk instead, but knowing her luck right now it probably would have broken or left her with a concussion or something.

It was seven o'clock in the evening. She hadn't eaten since this morning, and hadn't slept since _yesterday _morning, and what did she have to show for it? A folder full of terrible half-finished mixes that she'd put together in a delirious stupor, which she could only now gaze upon with horror. How could she have ever thought any of these went well together?

'I'm losing it...' Beca muttered to herself, as she moved yet another inane mix to her designated "Crappy Crap That's So Crap And You Should Be Ashamed Of How Crap It Is" folder. She hardly ever deleted anything and instead just moved them to this folder to remind herself of her failings. Like she didn't have enough reminders of that already.

With one hand she groped around her desk to find her phone, glaring at her screen as though the songs might reconfigure themselves with a coherent structure. Those two songs didn't even have a similar chord structure, for God's sake.

It only took a few rings for Jesse to pick up, but by that point Beca had already become impatient; she was speaking almost before Jesse could say hello. 'Jesse! Tell me a random song.'

'I'm fine thanks, and you?' replied Jesse. In the background of Jesse's line, she could hear raised voices - and was someone _singing? P_resumably he was out with friends and would likely be too distracted to offer many useful suggestions. Beca barely contained a petulant huff, realizing it would be pretty immature of her to do that. Of course, how _dare _he not be around to serve her every whim when she wanted him to.

'Look, sorry for dropping in on your evening,' she said, forcing herself to be apologetic. 'I'm in a rush to finish this mix - just give me a random song idea and I'll be out of your hair.'

'Just a random song? Okay...' Jesse paused for a few moments, pondering. 'Hm. What about "Roxanne"?'

Beca considered it for the briefest of seconds, imagining hundreds of possible combinations in that time but each one led to a mental roadblock, instinctively telling her they wouldn't work. 'No good. Another?'

'"Poker Face".'

Hmm, maybe she could… No, that wasn't right either. 'Sorry, nope. And how did your brain go from "Roxanne" to "Poker Face"?'

'That's what the last two singers did. We're in a karaoke bar.'

'A _karaoke _bar?'

'What's wrong with karaoke?'

'What _isn't _wrong with it?' Beca shook her head. 'I swear, dude, you get even more lame every time I speak to you. Just give me another song,' she added, hearing Jesse about to protest. 'Stop distracting me!'

'Beca, _you _called _me_!' His sigh was audible even over the noise in the background. 'Fine, fine. Uh… What about "Before He Cheats"? The Carrie Underwood song.'

Oh. That wasn't quite what she'd been expecting. Pretty different to what she normally worked with, but maybe she could get a little creative with it. 'Interesting choice.'

'I only make good ones,' Jesse replied smugly, conveniently forgetting his first two awful ideas.

Beca was halfway through writing down the name of the track, when she suddenly heard the rising volume of vocals in the background on Jesse's line. Suddenly it clicked. 'Jesse, is someone singing that right now?'

'Um.' There was a brief scrabble where Beca suspected Jesse was trying to muffle the receiver, but she could still hear it: someone crooning_ 'I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights'_' in a pitiful attempt at imitating Carrie Underwood's voice. Whoever it was, they were obviously favouring volume over being in tune. 'No?'

Beca dropped her pencil and also dropped her face into her hand, groaning. 'You suck.'

'I gave you like three song ideas!'

'And they were all terrible!'

'It's hardly my fault you have no idea what you want! What are you trying to make anyway?'

'None of your business,' Beca snapped.

'Ah,' he said knowingly, 'is this for Chloe's birthday?'

'No...' Beca heard Jesse snort derisively. 'Okay, fine. _One _of the projects is for her birthday. But on top of that, I'm also trying to make a demo of some of our ideas for finals so I can show the Bellas, _and _make some new mixes for Luke in time for the slot he's put me in next week.'

'Ouch, sounds like you've got a lot to deal with. Sorry I couldn't be more help then. Maybe you should text other people and see if they have any ideas?'

'It's cool. And yeah, I might do that.'

'Good. Hey, listen, I better go - I'm up next.'

Beca snorted at the mental image of Jesse singing one of the usual karaoke hits. 'Please tell me you're not singing "My Heart Will Go On".'

'Aw man, that was totally what I was gonna do.'

'And I'm sure it'll be beautiful,' Beca deadpanned. 'I'll have to get someone to record you doing it and put it on Youtube. Later.'

After hanging up, she did try some of the other Bellas, hoping to leave Chloe to the last resort (she always had to put up with Beca calling her for ideas) but the response were not generally helpful, and some didn't reply at all.

_Give me a random song title._

Amy: _SEX BOMB! :-) Like me._

Cynthia Rose: _drop it low._

Lily: _?_

Aubrey: _Ugh, just call Chloe already._

Soon after that last text from Aubrey, her phone buzzed once again: it was a text from Chloe. _That's the sixth time you've asked people that this week. What's going on, Beca?_

_Is Aubrey tattling on me again? That snitch. _

_When I said I was worried about how much you were doing, I didn't mean you should to hide it from me, you know. _

_I wasn't hiding it, I just didn't want to bug you in case you were busy. And eh - it'll all blow over soon, it's just a bit of a hectic period. In the mean time, tell me a random song? I need to jumpstart my imagination._

Instead of another text, Chloe called Beca. She considered not picking up, but soon realized the consequences of ignoring Chloe would likely be worse than just answering now.

'Beca, you need to take better care of yourself,' said Chloe anxiously, as soon as the line connected. 'And sometimes those texts you sent me were at three in the morning! Are you getting enough sleep? Are you sleeping at _all_?'

'What are you, my mom?'

'No, but carry on and I'll definitely be grounding you. Tell me what's going on, Beca.'

'It's nothing, seriously. I'll get it all done.'

'That's not what I asked. What needs to be done?'

'You really want to know? We might be here a while.'

'I've got time,' said Chloe.'

'Fine, here goes. I'm trying to get a preliminary mix done for the Bellas so we have something to base our rehearsals on. Then Luke keeps asking for more and more mixes to be played on the radio, and I'm running out of new things to give him. And then there's this other thing -' Beca broke off just before she revealed her final project, for Chloe's birthday which was coming up in a few weeks.'A personal project,' she finished weakly. 'Thing is, I know I have to do all this, but I can't get my damn brain to work.'

Chloe hummed. 'Sounds like writer's block. Or whatever the equivalent is for musicians.'

'But I can't afford to have a block, Chloe. Finals are up soon and everyone's counting on me to have the set ready -'

'Stop and take a deep breath,' said Chloe, firmly but kindly. 'You're getting yourself too worked up.'

Beca took a deep breath and let it go in an exaggerated fashion. 'Funnily enough, I don't feel any better.'

'Then just focus on the "stop" part,' she replied. 'One thing at a time. First: Luke. You have all sorts of mixes stored away that he hasn't played yet, right?'

'I did,' said Beca miserably. 'I've used most of them.'

'How? You must have hundreds on your computer!'

'I've _made _hundreds, but only some of them are any good.'

She could practically hear Chloe rolling her eyes from here. 'Alright, well, what about the mixes you've sent me? I know for a fact he's never played any of the mixes you've sent me before.'

'Chloe, I told you before: I can't send him _those _mixes.'

'Why not?'

'I made them for _you_,' Beca muttered, annoyed at herself for showing such sentimentality.

'Oh, Beca.' She mostly sounded amused, but Beca could detect a lot of fondness in those two words. 'I really don't mind if other people hear them. They're amazing, they shouldn't be wasted just on me.'

'But they're _personal_.'

'Why?'

Beca paused.

'They just are.' She couldn't help but cringe at how stupid she sounded. 'I made them for you, so they should for your ears only, right?'

'Well that sucks for the people of Barden, because in my opinion the mixes you've made me in the past is some of your best work...' Chloe sighed theatrically. 'And what a shame, no one but me will get to hear it!'

'Chloe, you can't guilt trip me into doing that.'

'They're my presents, shouldn't I be able to decide what to do with them? Hey!' said Chloe, voice brightening, 'It's my birthday soon, right? I think your present should be sending some of the mixes you've made for me to Luke.'

'Hell no.'

'I swear, you're the stubbornest person I've ever met.'

'Um, have you met Aubrey?'

'True,' said Chloe, stifling a guilty giggle. 'Anyway, you've got at least a few backups to tide you over with Luke for a bit, haven't you? Just so you can catch up with sleep and stuff.'

'Yes, but...'

'There's always a but.'

'They're not radio standard.'

'Beca, I know what your standards are like, and they're way above what's suitable for radio,' Chloe answered. 'Go through that folder I know you have on your computer that says "Crap Mixes" or something and give him the first thing you see. I guarantee it'll still be awesome. Or, even better, kill two birds with one stone and show Luke whatever you come up with for the Bellas!'

'Great, thanks for reminding me: I'd almost forgotten about the Bellas.'

'That's doable too. You have plenty of time; last year you did it with even less!'

'That was different.'

'How?'

'It just was. We were all in it together, helping each other, and it was easier because I had y...' Beca stopped, trailing off.

To Beca's chagrin, however, Chloe wasn't stupid; she knew exactly what she was going to say and couldn't resist teasing her about it. 'Wow, Bec, I didn't know I had so much sway with your muse. A girl could start getting flattered.'

'Shut up,' Beca hissed. She felt her cheeks with the back of her hand - yep, warm. 'You just have good ideas, that's all. Not like Jesse,' she added, scowling. 'Every time I call him he gives me some crappy top 40 song from the noughties.'

'Ex-boyfriends just aren't up to scratch these days, are they?' Chloe chuckled. 'Oh well, good thing you've got me to inspire you, then.'

'Right...'

'You know, it's pretty cool you and Jesse managed to stay friends after you broke up. Is it ever awkward between you two?'

'Not as much as I'd thought it would be. Occasionally I kind of look at him and think, "Oh God, I used to kiss that?" but for the most part I think I've repressed those memories.'

'He was never good enough for you anyway,' said Chloe. Before Beca could press this odd statement, she asked quickly, 'Are you feeling any better?'

'A bit, thanks. Although I'm not any further along than I was before I called.' Beca groaned, stretching in her chair until her back popped. 'I'm so tired. I hadn't realised how long I'd been worrying about this until I called you.'

'Why don't you give it up for today then?'

Beca glanced guiltily at her laptop screen. 'I should probably try and do a little more work on it. It's still early in the evening after all.'

'You're never going to get anything done in this state,' said Chloe firmly. 'Go for a walk, have some food, take a nap or something. Just don't think about it for the rest of the day, then you _and _the rest of the Bellas can work out what's going on. Tomorrow.'

Beca looked between her laptop and her bed, debating.

'Beca, you better be quiet because you're putting on your shoes or getting into bed, rather than trying to decide if you should carry on working.'

'I wasn't!' Beca said hastily. 'I was, uh… Deciding if I should go for a shower instead.'

'Good idea. I can smell you from here.'

'Gee, thanks.'

'I meant you smell _nice_, obviously.'

'Nice save.'

In the end, Beca discarded the shower and the walk idea. She was too reluctant to get off the phone. 'Hey, Chloe?'

'Yeah?'

'Would you mind staying on the line with me?'

'While you're in the shower? I'd say yes, but I think it'd get a bit wet... Your phone, I mean,' said Chloe teasingly.

'God, you perv! I meant just to talk.'

'Oh, that's nowhere near as much fun...'

'I'm going to hang up,' she threatened.

'No, don't! Okay, okay, I'll stay on the phone. If I _must_.'

'I hate you sometimes.'

'No, you don't.'

'No, I don't,' Beca agreed. 'Moving on... Tell me what's going on in your life?' Beca got herself comfy on her bed, only intending to wrap herself in blankets to get warmer, since her room was gradually dropping in temperature as night descended.

'Nothing much,' Chloe answered. 'Still job searching… Can't wait to be out of this period of my life where every day is get up, look for job offers, send off resumes, repeat ad nauseum… I guess everyone has to go through this eventually, but it just sucks, you know?'

'Totally. I'm sorry, Chlo.'

't's okay. At least Aubrey's out right now. She's been on my back a lot recently - I think she's feeling the stress of her Master's right now - well, as usual - and the work is getting on top of her. Maybe you should call Aubrey soon and ask her about the set list, Beca - I know she'd have some good ideas. Plus she misses being useful to Bellas. So do I, actually, although I guess I didn't do much besides the singing stuff.'

'No. You helped.'

'Thanks, Beca, that makes me feel a bit better. I miss Barden a lot sometimes. I mean, I'm glad I'm moving on with my life, but at the same time, whoever said college years were the best period of your life were probably right. You should enjoy it while you can, Beca. Beca? Beca, are you still there?' Chloe paused, waiting for a response, but none came besides the soft noise of Beca's breathing. 'Are you asleep?'

Beca returned to consciousness just enough to catch the question. 'No,' she mumbled, trying to force her eyes open.

'Mm, you're getting there, though,' said Chloe. 'Sweetie, you work too hard. Get some sleep.'

'No, no, I'm up. What were you saying about...' She forced herself to sit up, trying to remember. 'Barden? Yeah, Barden. The Bellas?'

'It's not important. Look, you sound exhausted. March your cute little butt into bed already and go to sleep.'

'You're not the boss of me,' Beca argued, but it was mostly for show since she was snuggling back down into her pillow.

'No, but I am your best friend, and my best friend advice is to go to sleep. I'm going to go hang up in a sec so you can go do that.'

Beca let out a noise of defeat, hardly aware of what she was being defensive about anymore. '_Fine_,' said Beca, her eyes already drifting shut again. Within moments she was back on the edge of sleep, while Chloe waited on the other end of the line.

'Beca?'

No answer.

Chloe sighed.

'Wow, you fall asleep quickly. I guess you were really that tired… You're amazing, and you work so much harder than you think you do, Beca,' Chloe told her, voice so quiet it was only just picked up by the phone's mic. 'I just wish you could see that the way I do... Sleep well.'

_Click._

The room was oddly quiet without Chloe's voice in her ear anymore. The phone slid from Beca's loose grip, lost somewhere between the mess of pillows and fabric, to be searched for frantically in the morning.

As Beca shifted and pulled the blankets up closer around her chin, she grinned sleepily to herself.


	6. Discovery

Dr Mitchell whistled as he walked down the corridor to Beca's dorm room, a content smile on his face. Today was a good day. He'd managed to finally clear his backlog of work that had been weighing down on him for the last month or so, it was Friday, and his wife had promised to make his favourite tuna casserole this weekend for dinner.

Nothing could bring him down right now, and that was mostly why he was here - you had to be in a certain mood to deal with Beca's sarcasm, and he'd found over time that the more he responded to it, the fewer coherent answers he got out of her. The trick was to go in bluntly and cheerfully, letting her barbs fall off his back whenever they came. Beca got confused when people didn't respond to her sarcasm the way she expected them to. It was something he'd learnt by watching Beca interact with her friends, who had learnt not to take any crap from Beca far quicker than he did - months rather than years.

Still, as time went on, he was becoming more and more sure Beca was going to stay at Barden, which gave him plenty of time to work her out. Although acapella hadn't been quite what he had in mind when he asked her to join a group on campus, but he supposed it suited her in a way, and he wasn't going to be picky if it talked her out of those nonsense dreams about going to L.A.

To be honest, he was mainly surprised she'd taken to it so well, since she often complained about the captain being too controlling and never letting them have any freedom. Deep down, he'd expected Beca to quit within a few weeks because of this, as being told what to do had never really gelled with her.

But no; they were now into their second semester and Beca was still going strong with the Bellas. They'd even gotten into Regionals, although sadly he'd not been able to turn up to watch her perform. He doubted she'd have even wanted him there, anyway - it wasn't like she usually jumped at the chance to involve him in her life. Still, something at the Bellas was certainly keeping Beca interested, and he suspected it was all the new friends she'd made. He'd even met a few of them, such as Chloe, who Beca seemed to have taken particular pains to introduce him to.

Chloe, Chloe, Chloe. Now that he thought about it, Beca did talk about her an awful lot. She obviously meant a great deal to Beca, which pleased him - she definitely needed all the friends she could get. Maybe he'd ask her to bring Chloe to the next family dinner, so he could meet her properly. Heck, maybe she was hanging out with Beca right now. They certainly spent enough time together for it to be a sensible prediction.

When he reached Beca's door, he knocked lightly at first, but there was no answer. Dr Mitchell frowned. He could hear voices inside. Maybe Beca had her headphones on?

On a whim, he tried the handle. He was surprised to find it unlocked; he pushed open the door, ready to give her a good lecture about it.

'Beca, you shouldn't leave your door unlocked -'

Dr Mitchell came to an abrupt stop and his jaw dropped, as he saw something no father ever hoped to see. As he whirled around with a cry and covered his eyes, a tiny voice in his head told him, '_You probably should have seen this coming'_; however, that was quickly overridden by the sudden and overpowering desire to jab something sharp into his eyes.

Chloe, Beca's friend, had been sitting astride his daughter's hips on the bed; both their shirts had been discarded somewhere on the floor, but they were thankfully at least clothed from the bottom down. Moments before, Chloe was hovering over Beca, their lips inches apart - when they heard the door open both girls sprang apart to opposite sides of the bed, but it did little to erase the image from his memory.

'Dad!'

'Dr Mitchell!'

Behind him, he heard the telltale scrabble of the girls rushing to put their clothes back on and of Beca muttering 'Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck' to herself. While he wished for nothing more than to escape to the corridor and run as far away as possible, he forced himself not to open the door and escape immediately, out of worry that someone outside might catch a glimpse of them in this state.

Instead, he took some deliberate, measured breaths. When he eventually spoke, his voice was strained. 'I'm going to come back in five minutes, and then we're going to have a little talk. _Both _of you.'

* * *

To his everlasting relief, when he returned a short time later - after pacing up the corridor muttering to himself for several minutes, receiving alarmed looks from many of the students nearby - both girls were fully dressed. However, Beca's cheeks were still bright pink and Chloe only met his eyes for a moment before she looked away guiltily.

He hovered in the doorway for a moment, unsure whether to sit down. However, Chloe seemed to realise this and silently pointed at Kimmy Jin's currently unoccupied desk. As he sat down heavily on the chair, he observed the two girls and cleared his throat.

'So. You two are...' He trailed off, but made a vague gesture at the two of them that he hoped would suffice instead of words. He noticed Chloe glance at Beca, but she only sat there staring at her hands.

'Yes,' said Chloe, when Beca offered no response after a minute. 'That is, if you're asking if we're a couple, then… Yes.'

'And this has been going on for…?'

'About two or three weeks.' Again, Chloe was the one to respond. Dr Mitchell wondered how she was so good at working out what he was going to say, but then figured that if his daughter was always this unresponsive she didn't have much to work with.

'And you're...' Another wave, but this time he didn't have any idea what he wanted to ask. _Girlfriends? What is this exactly? Are you in love? And why are you doing _that _in here when anyone like your old dad could walk in? _Evidently, Chloe had no idea what he was asking either, for once, judging by the helpless look that she threw Beca. He decided he could not ignore this any further and made to engage her directly. 'Beca, I'm speaking to you.'

For the first time since he'd re-entered the room, she met his gaze, with eyes that were dull and unemotional. 'I don't know what you want me to say.'

'Well…' He wiped his hands on his thighs. They were noticeably sweaty. 'Anything at all would be a start.'

'Chloe pretty much covered it all.'

'I thought you were involved with that boy at the station - what's his name, James?'

Beca winced. 'Jesse. And no. I'm not.'

'That's not the impression I got,' he said, partly just to see if this would finally elicit some sort of reaction. 'He was all you could talk about last time we met up.' He saw Chloe send her a sharp, searching look, and Beca return a small but comforting smile. It was the first bit of emotion he'd seen her show since he entered the room.

'Jesse and I were never an item, Dad. But… I wanted you to think we were so you wouldn't suspect about me and Chloe,' she confessed, closing her eyes.

'Does your mother know?'

As quickly as they'd closed, her eyes shot open once more in surprise. 'No!' she said, aghast. 'Mom would kill me.'

Try as he might, Dr Mitchell couldn't find anything to refute that. Although Beca was prone to hyperbole (and this was no exception), he couldn't imagine any situation in which that conversation went well. The thought angered him - and perhaps some of this showed on his face, because Beca shrank back a little. Immediately, he tried to straighten out his features. 'What led to the two of you getting together, then?'

Beca's fists tightened at her sides. 'I don't know. I _like _Chloe, Dad.'

'Ah. And you're…. Happy?' He directed the question at Beca, who nodded fiercely; however, he saw Chloe unconsciously nodding as well and couldn't help but smile faintly. 'I see.' Running his fingers through his hair, he searched around the room for something else to say. 'Where's Kimmy Jin?'

'She's away for the weekend,' Beca replied softly, folding her arms across her chest.

'Oh.' That explained why they hadn't been too worried about the door, then. 'Even if she's not around, you should be more careful,' he advised.

Beca let out a noise of frustration. A muscle was twitching in her jaw, she was tensing it so much. 'Dad, if you have something to tell me about my relationship with Chloe, just _say it_ already,' she said from between gritted teeth. 'Stop beating around the bush.'

He looked at his only daughter. She sat defensively, her shoulders hunched up in preparation of an attack. A wave of sadness passed through him - she obviously felt like one was bound to be coming. Chloe was sat in much the same way; although her expression was calm and far less hostile than her girlfriend's, Chloe kept her body angled towards Beca at all times and one hand placed protectively on her knee. 'I do have something to say, actually.'

If anything, Beca only coiled up tighter.

Dr Mitchell cleared his throat. 'Chloe, I'd like you to join us for dinner some time,' he asked, trying for his daughter's sake not to mince his words or make a joke as he was prone to do. 'Are you free this weekend? Hopefully you like tuna casserole.'

Beca's head shot up. The sheer surprise in her eyes pained him. 'Dad…?'

Chloe blinked, but she caught up quicker than Beca; a small smile appeared on her lips. Her hand found Beca's without her needing to look, squeezing slightly. 'I do. And Sunday sounds good, Dr Mitchell.'

'Perfect. And I suppose you'd better call me Andrew, or Drew if you prefer.' He stood up again, gazing down at Beca who still looked shocked. Her eyes were suspiciously glassy. He hadn't seen Beca cry for years. 'Beca,' he said, surprised to find a lump in his own throat. 'I know I've never been a brilliant dad to you, but… Surely you know me better than that...?'

He didn't mean it to come out as a question, but it did, and he hated how pleading he sounded. Still, Beca nodded, looking away and wiping her face. 'Y-yeah. Sorry.'

'With all due respect, Dr - I mean, Andrew, you didn't exactly give a lot of indication how you felt about all this,' Chloe piped up suddenly. Wow, she was a confident one. He could kind of see why Beca would be drawn to her - someone who loved without any reservations and wouldn't be likely to stray from her side.

'I didn't really know _how _I felt at first,' he replied honestly to Chloe, for he found looking at her messed with his emotions far less. 'I can't say I still really understand it - two girls, I mean - but I don't suppose I really need to, do I?'

'Don't you?' asked Beca doubtfully.

He shook his head. 'I don't need to understand everything about it to know you're happy, Beca. You told me so yourself… Both of you, actually, even though I was only asking Beca at the time,' he added, amused. Chloe went a little red at that, but didn't try to deny it; she just grinned sheepishly and shrugged. The expression Beca gave her following this - a hint of laughter behind her eyes, but mostly just deep affection - made him feel a tiny bit uncomfortable so he took a few steps towards the door.

'In any case, I expect to see you both there on Sunday.' He hesitated, tugging at his tie. 'But girls… Try and be a little more responsible. Anyone could walk in. Including me. And as glad as I am that you're happy, this is one experience I don't really want to repeat.'

Chloe laughed. 'Sorry, Dr Mitchell. We'll be more careful next time.'

'Good. I'll see you guys later.' Chloe said goodbye to him and he heard Beca do it too, her voice wavering, but grateful.

When he glanced back just before leaving, Chloe had Beca wrapped up in her arms, while she buried her face in Chloe's shoulder.

Dr Mitchell shut the door quietly behind him and leaned back against it for a moment to sigh deeply and massage his temples briefly. With one hand he reached into his suit pocket and pulled out his phone, dialing his wife's number.

'Hello, Sheila?' His voice cracked, but he tried to hide it by clearing his throat. 'No, no, everything's fine. Beca will be coming over tonight. With - with a plus one. So…' He smiled bracingly, swallowing. 'We'll need more tuna casserole.'

* * *

**A/N: I recently came out to my own dad, and although I don't usually get upset writing my own fics I found myself getting oddly emotional writing this. Although he didn't say nearly as much on the subject as Beca's dad did (and we've not spoken of it since) nothing bad came of it. **

**For various reasons I know that me revealing that I'm in a relationship with another woman probably turned his world upside down, but he never let on and he hasn't tried to change me. When you're expecting the absolute worst it's such a relief when none of that happens, but I've never doubted how much effort that must have taken him. We've never had the most fantastic relationship but he seems to be trying a lot more now: it's the little things.**

**I'm just rambling now, but, well. Thanks dad, for not kicking me out onto my arse on the street, and for buying my girlfriend pain au chocolat. This one's for you.**


	7. Regionals

**A/N: So, I have a question for you guys. I have two possible multipart fics I'd like to begin writing in full. The first is a sequel to You Untether Me (if you guys have read that); the other is an expansion on the AU fanfic in this Vignette series where Beca and Chloe meet on the college tour. The sequel to YUM is more likely to get finished before I go back to uni I think (I hope), but really I'd just like an idea of which one people would be more interested in. It has been over a year since I first wrote YUM after all! But if you have any opinion one way or the other, let me know.**

**Also, to people who sent me prompts - thank you so much. I'm sorry I suck and fell into writing other projects! I'll do my best to get around to them but it might be a while, especially the ones that would probably require a longer story.**

**Just a quick fluffy thing set before Regionals - it's been in my backlog for ages so I'm happy to finally get rid of it...**

* * *

'Hey Kimmy Jin, how do I look?' Beca asked, turning to her roommate. She received no response, as Kimmy Jin instead very pointedly ignored her and continued to chat away to one of her friends on Skype. Beca watched her do this for a moment before turning back to the mirror; she sighed and smoothed out the skirt, tugging at the Bella's scarf tied around her neck with a grimace. She'd never get used to this austere uniform. But like everything the Bellas did, it was "tradition" and, according to Aubrey, tradition could never be broken.

Seriously, who came up with this look? American Airlines?

'You can do this,' Beca told herself in the mirror. 'You can sing and dance to stupid, boring songs from last century. It'll make a good embarrassing story in the future when you get famous and have to write your memoirs... Aaand now you're talking to yourself.' She gave herself a thumb's up. 'Good one, Mitchell. You're losing it.'

Beca checked the time on her phone, eyes widening when she saw what the time was. Although they still had hours yet before they were due on stage, she was supposed to get on the bus with the other Bellas about... Five minutes ago. Aw, crap - Aubrey was going to _kill_ her.

'Bye Kimmy Jin!' she shouted to her roommate, blowing a sarcastic kiss to her - typically receiving no response again - as she wrenched open the door and ran outside. However, since she'd been looking over her shoulder she didn't see the person standing right outside the door about to knock and promptly ran straight into them. Whoever it was squeaked in surprise, but somehow managed to stay upright; meanwhile, Beca not-so-gracefully lost her balance and toppled face first onto the ugly blue hallway carpet.

It only took a flash of red hair in her peripheral vision as she fell to the floor to tell her the mysterious stranger was Chloe. Beca wasn't particularly surprised. The number of red haired people likely to be creeping outside her dorm was rather small - not to mention, Chloe had an odd and mildly irritating habit of turning up at her door to accost her in the hallway. Usually whenever Beca was planning to skip practice. She seemed to have a sixth sense for that kind of thing.

'Hello, Chloe,' Beca said to the ceiling. She felt her head gingerly, which she suspected would end up having a lump or at the very least an attractive bruise. That would go nicely with her scarf.

Chloe's face appeared in Beca's line of sight, confirming Beca's suspicions. She was also in her Bellas uniform, hair tied back into a brutally tight ponytail, but unlike Beca her grin was already out in full force. 'Hey there! Have a nice trip?'

'That wasn't even remotely inventive,' Beca grumbled, struggling to sit up but declining the hand Chloe put out to help her. 'How come I was the only one who ended up on the floor?'

'I have much better balance, apparently.' Chloe's smile widened in that usual teasing way she had, making Beca roll her eyes.

'Were you standing there long?'

'Oh, only an hour or two,' Chloe replied, winking. She reached down to tug Beca to her feet, to her protests. 'Aubrey sent me to make sure you actually came. You look really great, by the way,' she added.

'Do you have to sound so surprised?'

'Well, I kind of am. Your legs look _fantastic_ in this skirt. I don't remember them looking that good in the shower.' Before Beca could pull away, she was already pulling at the bottom of Beca's shirt, smoothing out some of the creases with her hands. Beca stepped out of her reach, blushing slightly.

There was a short pause where Chloe cocked her head in slight bemusement, as she tended to do when Beca became at all uncomfortable with Chloe's lack of respect for boundaries. The next moment, however, the blinding smile was back.

'Coming?' Chloe offered an arm out to her.

Beca gave a deep sigh, looking longingly back at her dorm room; for a second she entertained fantasies of running back in and locking the door, Kimmy Jin be damned. But Chloe had already grown impatient and taken hold of Beca's arm, dragging her resisting legs down the hallway.

'C'mon, Beca!' Chloe said cheerfully. 'Acapella waits for no one!'

'I don't care if it waits for me; it can go on without me as far as I'm concerned. Remind me why the hell I'm doing this again?'

Chloe glanced back at her, a few steps ahead of Beca with her arm clutched in her right hand. Surely being that happy is illegal, Beca thought, eyeing Chloe's grin. And so is having teeth that white. She really needed the number of Chloe's dentist. 'You mean dancing and singing in aca-harmony with an awesome group of hot gals? Surely there's no better way to spend your Saturday night.'

'Cutting my nails... Watching paint dry... Being glared at by Kimmy Jin's friends while they play Mario Kart. Anything, really.'

'Hm, well, you can do all those things to your heart's content _after _the performance. For now, it's singing time.'

Beca groaned. 'How are you so excited?'

'I love to sing, and I love music,' Chloe replied, her tone suggesting the answer was completely obvious. 'And so do you, so I would have thought you'd be excited too.'

'I love _making mixes_ and singing _alone,_' Beca stressed. 'I don't even know why I'm here. I look and feel ridiculous.'

'No you don't. I told you already, you look amazing.'

Beca sighed. 'I don't just mean the clothes - I mean in general. This is so dumb, I don't know why I'm here.'

Chloe slowed her pace a little, smile wavering slightly from its original full power. 'Oh, Beca. You don't really feel that way, do you?'

'Don't I?'

Chloe stopped completely this time. However, Beca didn't realise this and kept on going until the vice grip on her arm pulled her back. When she looked back, Chloe had lost her smile and was now frowning at her.

'What?' she said.

'If you think it's so dumb, then why did you join?' If anyone else had asked, it probably would've sounded accusatory, but Chloe just sounded upset. Beca wasn't sure she preferred it.

'Have you forgotten when you jumped me in the shower and made me sing to you?' Beca certainly hadn't, try as she might. She couldn't listen to Titanium these days without going into a full body blush.

'I might have made you sing to me, but I didn't force you to audition,' Chloe pointed out. 'That was all you. I didn't even think you weregoing to turn up.'

'Well - you seemed like you'd be kinda disappointed if I didn't.' Crap, she didn't mean to say that. Beca ducked her head and went to put her hands in her pockets, but the pockets on these blazers were disappointingly shallow.

'So… you joined so you didn't disappoint me?'

Beca caught the note of pleasure in her voice. 'Don't get cocky,' Beca warned. 'I'm just a really nice person, that's all.'

Chloe smiled. 'Yes, you are.' She reached down to take Beca's hands in hers, running her thumbs over their backs until Beca pulled away with an uncharacteristic impatience. Chloe took note of this. 'Look, what's _really _going on? You're even crankier than usual, and generally that means something is bothering you.'

'That's not true.'

Chloe raised an eyebrow.

'Okay, maybe it is a little,' she admitted. 'It's - it's just this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, you know?'

'Oh, like nerves?'

Beca scowled. 'I am not nervous. If I'm anything, I'm mildly apprehensive, but that's all.'

'That's pretty close to nervous if you ask me,' said Chloe. 'You shouldn't worry. Your voice is beautiful, so I know you're going to be aca-amazing.'

'... Whatever, let's just go. We've been rehearsing for months so it'd be a waste not to,' Beca said, with a small scoff to cover her sudden embarrassment at Chloe's genuine compliment. She started walking again, closely followed by Chloe, who was unperturbed as usual by her sudden mood change.

'If it helps, I am as well... Nervous, that is.' Beca was somewhat surprised by this, but didn't let it show. 'I mean, it's the first time we're going on stage since Finals of last year.' Beca winced, remembering that video she saw of Aubrey. 'I'm nervous for Aubrey. She's under a lot of pressure.'

'But you're not nervous for you?' Beca couldn't help asking. 'What about your… y'know?' She waved her hand awkwardly in the vicinity of her throat.

'My nodes?' When Beca nodded, she shrugged. 'I'll be _fine_. Don't worry.'

'Don't they hurt?'

'Sometimes.'

'So, a lot of the time then,' said Beca, earning herself a nudge in the side.

'Don't be silly. And anyway,' she went on brightly - although Beca wasn't entirely convinced it was genuine - 'I can cope.'

'I'm sure. Just be careful, alright?'

'I _am_,' Chloe insisted. Beca didn't press it further.

They walked on. Beca had never realised quite how big the campus was - or at least, it felt pretty big when she was walking in silence with Chloe, their bare arms brushing with every step.

'Hey, you're… a little close, there,' Beca said, glancing down at their arms, which were getting fairly intimate. 'Your elbow could at least buy mine a drink first,' she teased.

'Oh, sorry.' She didn't laugh at the joke at all, making Beca raise an eyebrow.

Chloe didn't move away. They spent the rest of the walk out to the bus like that, with Chloe seemingly getting closer every few seconds until their arms were not so much brushing as banging into each other. Beca was getting annoyed, and opened her mouth to complain - however, Chloe stopped suddenly, just out of sight of the parking lot. Chloe had gone quite pale and immediately Beca worried she was going to throw up or something. She didn't need two projectile vomiters on the team. 'Chloe?'

'I was lying,' she said.

'Huh?'

'Just now. When I said I was only nervous about Aubrey. I was lying.' Chloe looked away, biting her lip. 'I am nervous for myself.'

Beca had suspected as much, but figured saying so wasn't going to help. '...Okay.' Beca folded her arms, suddenly uncomfortable. She wasn't really the best at comforting people. For the first time in her life, she suddenly found herself wishing Aubrey was here. 'Why?'

'The nodes. You're right, I've been freaking out about them for ages,' Chloe replied. 'What if I crack, Beca? What if I go off key and throw everyone else off? What if I let everyone down? What if I let _Aubrey _down?'

Beca swallowed, eyes widening. What was she meant to say to that? The silence went on; by now Chloe was begging her silently to say something, do anything at all. But she couldn't. Even more seconds ticked by in which Chloe's eyes were beginning to look a little watery, and Beca was starting to panic.

So in the end, she said the first thing that popped into her head: 'W-well. You know the best thing to do for nerves, right? Picture the audience in their underwear.'

Chloe didn't immediately respond, and Beca's heart jumped to her throat, thinking she'd just made things worse with her ill-timed joke. But in the end, Chloe laughed - it was a tiny, thin, weak one one, but it was a laugh nonetheless. 'Does that work for nodes?' she asked, trying to wipe her eyes without messing up her makeup.

'Hell yes. I don't know why doctors don't prescribe it more.'

'Beats me.' Chloe wasn't doing a particularly good job of not smudging her make up (or calming down, for that matter) and was rapidly looking more and more like a raccoon with every second.

'Hey... It's okay - don't cry,' said Beca. She put her hand on Chloe's shoulder, took a breath, then pulled her into a hug. She didn't often give these out of her own accord, but it was the only thing she could think to do. 'It'll be great. You know?'

It wasn't a particularly eloquent or helpful thing to say, but judging by the way Chloe clung to her, she figured maybe the hug was the thing she really needed. She could do that. She'd given hugs before. Not ones as long lasting as the one she was giving now, maybe, but it wasn't a big deal.

'I'm just so scared I'm going to mess everything up,' Chloe said, quiet and miserable, leaning her forehead against Beca's shoulder. 'I've had nightmares about it since that day at the doctors. I don't have the range that I should have and it's just getting harder and harder every time I sing.'

Beca frowned. That didn't sound healthy at all. 'Have you ever thought,' she began hesitantly, 'about just giving up the singing? It would really suck if you ended up doing permanent damage to your voice.'

It was completely the wrong thing to say, apparently, because Chloe twisted away from her, her face aghast. 'I can't do that! Beca, this is my one last chance, I can't let Aubrey down -'

'Okay, okay - shh, forget I said anything.' She drew Chloe back into the hug out of a loss of any other ideas, hoping to calm her slight trembling with a few pats on the back. Beca still thought it was worth thinking about, but realised maybe bringing it up now had been a bit of a stupid decision. She decided to go down the reassuring statements route instead, guessing that Chloe probably wasn't in the mood for advice right now. 'Chloe, you're going to be amazing. You aren't going to let any of us down.'

'You really think so?' Chloe's voice was small and vulnerable. It was a far cry from the confident woman who had burst into Beca's shower only a few months ago and forced them to sing together. It seemed odd to Beca that the same person was now clinging to her, needing reassurance about the thing she was best at, when only ten minutes ago she'd been trying to comfort _Beca _on her voice.

'Well, duh. I've heard you in the shower, right? If you can sing naked in front of a total stranger, you can totally pull it off in front of a few judges,' said Beca. 'I'm sure your nodes won't even bother you tonight.'

'Really?'

'Of course. I'm always right, aren't I?'

She chuckled and gave Beca a grateful squeeze. They stood there for a whole minute, with Beca wondering whether this was standard protocol for friends comforting other friends, until Chloe finally backed away. She felt oddly bereft when this happened, but was relieved to see that Chloe looked a lot less like she was going to have a panic attack at any moment. Crisis averted, Beca thought. For now maybe.

Chloe cleared her throat and pulled gently on the end of Beca's shirt, smoothing out the creases that had appeared. It was the same thing she'd done earlier - this time, though, the gesture was more endearing than anything else and seemed like a way for her to find something to do with her hands.

'You know, you never say what I expect you to say, but somehow it's always just what I need to make me feel better… Thank you,' she said quietly. She leaned up and gave Beca a quick kiss on the cheek. 'Sorry for the mini freak out.'

Beca swallowed, hoping her cheeks weren't showing as red as they felt right then. 'Psh, no problem, Beale,' she replied, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. 'I'm the master of dealing with freak outs. Got loads of experience from my own.'

Chloe gave her a wavering smile. 'I'll try and remember that. Anyway... We'd better go, before Aubrey murders both of us for being late.'

'Oh, shit, yeah. They'd probably never find the bodies.'

Aubrey had been as angry as they'd expected ('We have a SCHEDULE to adhere to, ladies!') but she'd quickly quietened down upon noticing Chloe's slightly bloodshot eyes. After casting her usual suspicious glare at Beca, she'd sat down and then they were off to Regionals.

Chloe sat next to her, and almost as soon as they pulled out of the parking lot, Chloe took her hand without asking. Her palm was clammy and a little sweaty with nerves, but Beca held on anyway - drawing and giving a surprising amount of reassurance from this one simple action.

And okay, maybe Beca could think of a hundred different things she might enjoy more tonight. But right now? She didn't really want to wish herself anywhere else.

* * *

**A/N: Good lord, sorry about the ridiculous amount of typos in the first upload of this. Wrong draft went up.**


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